Environmentalists yesterday demanded that the government take immediate steps to protect the Dumni-Boalia canal from the grabbers.
They made the demand at a human chain programme jointly organised by the Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) and Greenbelt Trust in front of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University, said a press release.
The speakers said Dumni-Boalia canal is a lifeline for the people living in the Khilkhet area. Not only the canal provides the livelihood for thousands of people living in the area, but it also plays a major role in protecting the city from waterlogging and floods, they added.
A section of people encroached on the canal filling a large portion of it with sand, they said, adding that unless immediate steps are taken it will become extinct like many other city canals.
This will create environmental turmoil and affect the socio-economic well-being of the local people, they said.
Poba Chairman Abu Naser Khan, Joint Secretary Sabina Nayeem, Greenbelt Trust Director General Jasim Katabi and Nature Loving People Director Alamgir, spoke at the rally.
They blamed the government for not adopting effective measures to take care of and conserve the water bodies.
A total of 43 canals are on the verge of extinction for illegal grabbing in the city.
